Search efforts for Michael Raymond Hickey, 59 of Duluth, ended sadly when his body was recovered in Pine Lake after a three-day search.
“This is a difficult day for all involved; an extensive multi-agency search ended with a discovery of a body in the lake,” said Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen. “We always hope for the best, that we’ll locate a missing person alive. Given the remote search area, which is difficult to access, I commend the efforts of all responders involved for their unwavering dedication to this search.”
Located in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) north of Hovland, Pine Lake is accessed by paddling and portaging from McFarland Lake. It is a big lake, consisting of 18.22 mile of shoreline covering 2,122 acres and has a maximum depth of 113 feet.
Cook County Law Enforcement learned that Hickey was missing on Monday, November 7 at about 3 p.m. when his colleagues called to say that Hickey hadn’t returned from a weekend fishing trip from Pine Lake. Sheriff deputies and search and rescue crews responded to the call and discovered a submerged canoe, canoe paddles, and personal items belonging to Hickey. They also found his truck parked at McFarland Lake landing.
The search expanded on Tuesday late into the evening and included ground, water, and air resources from the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, Cook and Lake Counties’ Search and Rescue Teams, the United States Forest Service, United States Border Patrol, Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Additional items believed to be Hickey’s were found on Tuesday. They included a backpack, a depth finder, and additional fishing gear near the shoreline where Hickey was thought to be camping.
On Wednesday searchers went out at 7 a.m. to once again begin the search, focusing on two areas in the lake that had been identified. Teams used side scan sonar and a Remote Operated Vehicle to complete a grid search of an area approximately 1,000 feet from shore from where the items were found the day before, and also searched a submerged rock pile near where Hickey fished.
At about 5 p.m. searchers found Hickey’s body in approximately 80 feet of water using the side scan sonar provided by the St. Louis County Search and Rescue. A post-mortem investigation to determine the cause of death will follow.
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